The objective of The Reading Modeler is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to the Reading for use in modeling the railroad and its operations. In an ongoing effort to share knowledge regarding "the prototype," we will be transcribing and presenting official Reading Company information from our collection as well as material contributed by others. Since space does not permit us to include everything we would desire (there are several archives and museums that currently maintain excellent Reading Company archives), we will focus primarily on information that is of use in planning and operating a Reading-themed model railroad.

Reading Company Listings in the Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER)

The Official Railway Equipment Register is an incredibly useful tool in learning more about the Reading's fleet of rolling stock, including the number of cars in certain classes (as well as their road numbers), freight car dimensions, etc. It is also interesting to see the change in composition of the freight car fleet over time as the traffic base moved away from coal loading and toward other commodities.

Diagram of the Reading's Port Richmond Facilities: Mitch Kennedy has provided this scan of a diagram of the Reading's facilities at Port Richmond in Philadelphia, taken from a Reading Company sales publication. This would be useful for individuals modeling the waterfront, as well as helping with yard design, as one can visualize the flow of rail traffic based on the layout of the trackage.

Information on the Reading's Winter Operations: Member Hugh Sinn has contributed these two PDF files outlining the Reading's preparations for cold-weather operations during the winter of 1967-68 along with a related roster and details on the Reading's snow-fighting equipment. This material provides some interesting insight into what it takes to get a railroad ready for winter operations.

Iron Horse Rambles - Excursion Details: This is a PDF file including details from ALL the Reading Company Iron Horse Ramble excursions from 1959 - 1964, including points of origin and destination, total trip mileage, and number of passengers. Courtesy Rob Danner.

Locomotive Adjusted Tonnage Ratings - 1972: A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing tonnage rating information for the Reading Company locomotive fleet in 1972. The spreadsheet has 3 tabs: Westbound, Eastbound, and Fast Freight. The data outlines the tonnage that a single unit of each class of locomotive could haul on a particular grade while maintaining the speed indicated. To increase the rate of speed or the tonnage of the train, additional units would be required. You will note that the ratings for similar classes of locomotives are significantly lower in fast freight service, this is in order to maintain a higher rate of speed for this class of train. Regarding the left-hand column labeled "Factor Tons per Car": This rating was a method of taking into account the number of grades and curves on a particular line. Curves can cause resistance just as grades do. Another issue that the "Factor Tons" rating takes into account is the proximity of grades to one another. In other words, the topograhy of some lines allowed trains to get a "running start" when tackling a grade, and this momentum would help to mitigate the weight resistance of the trains, as opposed to some other lines where the train encountered more of a "direct assault" on a grade. This data can be used on your layout to allocate sufficient motive power, in both number and horsepower, to haul your trains. You could "selectively compress" the weight of the cars to be hauled based on the train lengths you're using, so that for example, a 20-car train would weigh 6000 tons and thus require either multiple units or higher-horsepower locomotives to capture a more prototypical feel (even though one of today's higher-end model locomotives could likely haul the 20-car train unassisted). In addition, if the line you're modeling has a high "Factor Tons" rating, that would be indicative of either a somewhat shorter train or more motive power.

Reading Company Summary of Equipment - 1967: The Reading, like many other railroads, published a "Summary of Equipment" document on an annual basis, listing all motive power and rolling equipment owned by the railroad, for both freight and passenger service. From these documents, one can ascertain the mix of different types of equipment - for example, the mix of 40' vs 50' boxcars, etc. They're also useful for developing your locomotive fleet on a proportional basis to get the right mix of manufacturers, road vs yard units, etc.

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Downloads

A variety of Reading Company operations related documents, etc. that may be of use in your modeling efforts.

Operations Paperwork

A variety of Reading Company operations paperwork, such as train orders, clearance forms, etc. that will help you operate your Reading layout in a prototypical manner.

Timetables, Rulebooks, Etc.

Public Timetables, Employe Timetables, and Rulebooks that provide much useful operational information.

Modeling Goodies

Signs, billboards, and other FREE goodies for your use. We ask only that you help spread the word about The Reading Modeler!

Rolling Stock Reference

Downloadable reference documents on the various classes of Reading Company Freight and Passenger rolling stock.

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